Age-adjusted suicide rate in the United States by race, 1981–2016. Data from CDC WISQARS Fatal Injury Reports.[1]

Crude suicide rate in the United States by age, 1981–2016. Data from CDC WISQARS Fatal Injury Reports.[1]

Suicide is a major national public health issue in the United States. In 2016, there were 44,965 recorded suicides,[2] up from 42,773 in 2014, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).[3][4][5] On average, adjusted for age, the annual U.S. suicide rate increased 24% between 1999 and 2014, from 10.5 to 13.0 suicides per 100,000 people, the highest rate recorded in 28 years.[6][7] Due to the stigma surrounding suicide, it is suspected that suicide generally is underreported.[8] In April 2016, the CDC released data showing that the suicide rate in the United States had hit a 30-year high,[9][10] and later in June 2018, released further data showing that the rate has continued to increase and has increased in every U.S. state except Nevada since 1999.[11][12]

In 2015, suicide was the seventh leading cause of death for males and the 14th leading cause of death for females.[13] Additionally, it was the second leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 24 and the third leading cause of death for those between the ages of 10 and 14.[14] From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans aged 35 to 64 increased nearly 30 percent. The largest increases were among women aged 60 to 64, with rates rising 60 percent, then men in their fifties, with rates rising nearly 50 percent. [7] In 2008, it was observed that U.S. suicide rates, particularly among middle-aged white women, had increased, although the causes were unclear.[15]

There are significant variations in the suicide rates of the different states,[22] ranging from 28.24 per 100,000 people in Wyoming to 7.81 per 100,000 people in New York.[8]

Approximately half of suicides are committed using a firearm, accounting for two-thirds of all firearm deaths.[23] Firearms were used in 56.9% of suicides among males in 2016, making it the most commonly used method by them.[13]

Based on the NVDRS 2016 data, the New York Times acknowledged that, among men, those over 65—who make up a smaller proportion of the population—are at greatest risk of death by suicide.[24] The NVDRS 2015 data showed that, among men of all races, men over 65 were the most likely to commit suicide (27.67 suicides per 100,000), closely followed by men 40–64 (27.10 suicides per 100,000). Men 20–39 (23.41 per 100,000) and 15–19 (13.81 per 100,000) were less likely to commit suicide.[25]

There are significant variations in the suicide rates of the different states.[22] A number of theories for these differences have been suggested, ranging from socioeconomics to access to firearms and isolation (low population densities),[26] and a study in 2011 found a correlation between altitude above sea level and suicide.[27]

A 2009 U.S. Army report indicates military veterans have double the suicide rate of non-veterans, and more active-duty soldiers have died from suicide than in combat in the Iraq War (2003–2011) and War in Afghanistan (2001–2014).[29] Colonel Carl Castro, director of military operational medical research for the Army noted "there needs to be a cultural shift in the military to get people to focus more on mental health and fitness."[30] In 2012, the US Army reported 185 suicides among active-duty troops, exceeding the number of combat deaths in that year (176). This figure has significantly increased since 2001, when the number of suicides was 52.[31]